


Second Opinion

by Rastaban



Series: Unmapped Worlds [1]
Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: Gen, Gideon Jura Has A Somewhat Decent Day, Gideon Jura Is Double Batman, Jace Beleren Fashions The Illusion Of A Functional Adult, No It's Not Shippy, Rating Largely For Profanity Purposes, STAND BACK WE'RE GOING TO TRY SCIENCE, That Doesn't Sound Good At All
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-10 00:52:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4370960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rastaban/pseuds/Rastaban
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After collapsing on the steps of Ravnica's Chamber of the Guildpact in his desperate quest for help against the Eldrazi threat, Gideon Jura takes a nap, has a decent meal, and tries to find the person who solved the Implicit Maze.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Opinion

Gideon woke up with some reluctance.

For a few moments all he could do was lie still and cherish the feeling of being horizontal on a soft surface. _Hello bed_ , he thought muzzily. _I've missed you._

And then the reasons he had been missing said rest crashed back into his brain, and he ordered himself awake.

He was lying on a small cot in an equally small room, which all combined to make the guard standing at his door look even larger. When Gideon sat up he turned and his eyes widened.

"Excuse me," said Gideon. "But I need to see the Guildpact."

"Sorry, sir. I can't do that."

"It's urgent."

"You don't have the proper permits, sir."

Gideon belatedly scanned the guard's armor. Damn. The white and blue of Azorius, not the welcome white-red of the Boros Legion. His chances of talking his way past an Azorius were about as great as those of the Eldrazi simply getting bored and leaving.

"Well then," he said instead, and rolled the dice. "Surely someone has asked to be informed when I wake up?"

The guard frowned, looking annoyed that Gideon had known that, but stepped out and shut the door behind him. It stayed closed for the half-minute it took Gideon to get up, realize that both his armor and his sural were gone, and pick up a rather large decorative wood-carving that would, he judged, be good for one or two blows before it splintered.

_And if I need more than one or two to take out an Azorius, I might as well give up and go home_ , he thought with a wry twist of his mouth.

Then the door opened again and Dars Gostok came in, and Gideon relaxed and set aside his makeshift weapon.

"Jura! Good to see you conscious again," said Dars. He carried in a large crate covered with canvas and set it down on the room's small table.

"Dars," said Gideon, more relieved that he'd thought he ever would be to see the Boros Legion captain. The urgency of his task battered his mind, like the waves of Eldrazi against the Sea Gate. "My friend, I need to ask a terrible favor of you."

"It wouldn't be to go see the Guildpact, would it?" said Dars with a twinkle in his eye. When Gideon only looked surprised he laughed and said, "You kept mumbling about it in your sleep."

His sleep. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"I'd guess about a day."

A day. His heart tightened. How many had died in that day, while he rested. "Then it is even more urgent that I see him," said Gideon. "Dars, please..."

The Boros captain held up a hand and said, "I can't just get an audience with the Guildpact whenever I feel like it either. _But_ ," he added as Gideon opened his mouth. "I _do_ know some of his staff, and they're willing to take him a message."

"Thank you," said Gideon. He felt suddenly weak with relief. "Dars, you don't know the service you've done." _Done for an entire world, and many others._

Dars smiled. "It's the least I could do. Well, actually the least I could do was keep the Azorius from dumping you in a cell when they found you passed out in front of the Chamber of the Guildpact. This is extra."

"I owe you."

"After the Shattergang brothers? You don't owe me jack, Gideon." He moved to the crate he'd brought and pulled the canvas off the top. "Those stiff-necked idiots insisted on taking your stuff, but here it is." As Gideon slowly replaced his armor, inspecting each piece for new damage, Dars continued. "Just, a word of advice - keep your weapon sheathed while you're in the Chamber, or you might find yourself in a detention sphere. You would not _believe_ how many people try to kill the Guildpact on a daily basis."

Gideon strapped the razor-coil of his sural onto his forearm and nodded. "Wise advice. I will follow whatever protocols the Guildpact deems necessary."

Dars stepped back, an unreadable look on his face. "You're really serious about this, aren't you," he said, sounding oddly grim. "There's a really, really big problem somewhere."

"Larger than you know," said Gideon. "Larger than anyone knows."

Dars stayed silent for a moment, mulling this over, and said, "My contact on the Guildpact's staff will be along shortly." Then he broke back into his usual easy humor and added, "Guess you'd better catch a nap while you can, eh?"

Gideon surprised himself by laughing. "Good luck, my friend," he told Dars.

"I'll see you at the Legion when you're done with all this politics business, yes?" said Dars.

"The moment I can spare the time," promised Gideon. Dars left with a congenial wave and Gideon's light expression dropped immediately.

 _It just might be a while before I can spare that time,_ he thought.

 

***

 

Dars' contact was an Azorius. Gideon's spirits dropped even lower when he saw the white-blue triangle on her cuirass. He'd been hoping for a Boros. _But this is what you have to work with_ , he reminded himself. _It's more than the folk of Zendikar have right now._

So he squared his shoulders and stood at attention, careful to leave his sural visible and visibly strapped down, and waited for her to speak first. The Azorius measured him up and down; whatever she saw seemed to pass muster. She folded her arms.

"Lavinia, Deputy to the Guildpact. Azorius," she said at last.

"Gideon Jura. Guildless."

One eyebrow twitched up a fraction at that, but her expression otherwise blank. "Captain Gostok says you have an important matter for the Guildpact's consideration."

"I do."

"You may tell me about it."

"I am afraid I must speak to the Guildpact himself. The...urgency of the situation will not be understood by anyone else."

Lavinia remained impassive. "Then you may tell me something about its urgency, and I will deliver that to the Guildpact."

In Gideon's mind the Sea Gate crumbled beneath the reality-warping hordes. "It truly would be better if I explained it to him directly."

"You may give me a message, or you may leave the Chamber," said Lavinia. "I don't have all day to play games with strangers."

Gideon measured her posture. She wasn't going to budge. He let his shoulders slump a fraction, showing the Azorius that he had conceded. "All right," he said in a humbler tone. "Please tell the Guildpact this: it concerns Zendikar."

Lavinia's expression flickered again at that. Perhaps she hadn't thought he would give. "You're right. That certainly doesn't make sense to me."

"He will understand it."

"Zandivar?" she repeated

"Zendikar. A 'k'."

"Zandikar."

"Close enough."

"Very well." Again that measured scan from the Azorius, this time more careful. "You may wait here, Gideon Jura. It will be better for all of us if you did not attempt to leave this room."

"Deputy Lavinia, if you will deliver my message, I will wait anywhere you choose."

"Hmm," said Lavinia. The guard outside his door opened it at her knock; Gideon stayed pointedly still.

"I'll send a healer for those wounds," said the Deputy, pausing at the door.

"That will not be necessary."

"Bleeding on the Chamber of the Guildpact is a class B act of vandalism." No matter how hard he searched her face, Gideon couldn't decide if the Deputy were telling the truth. "I'll send someone."

"Thank you," conceded Gideon. He waited till the door closed behind her. Then he sank down onto the cot and rubbed at his right calf. The wound he'd taken from the goblin's shiv had closed, but it twinged when he moved and that muscle didn't want to perform as well as it should. Perhaps Deputy Lavinia had a point. 

Only a month or so spent hunting the Eldrazi in earnest, protecting the flight of Zendikar's people. Only a month, and he'd already suffered five injuries, one of them serious. This pace was not sustainable. All his hopes hung on Deputy Lavinia and a single word.

The Deputy returned in an hour, her professionally blank expression not quite masking the surprise beneath. Gideon looked up from the small meal of bread and cheese the healer had arranged for him, then stood hastily to attention once more.

"The Guildpact will see you now."

 

***

 

Jace Beleren, the Living Guildpact. Physical manifestation of the enchantment that bound the ten great powers of Ravnica, arbiter of conflicts and final word on all matters of Ravnican law.

Somehow Gideon thought he'd be taller.

"I get that a lot," said Beleren, leaning against the front of his desk with an amused look. Oh. Right. Mind mage. "And no, I wasn't snooping. You have very loud opinions."

"It's not my opinions that matter at present, Guildpact."

"Indeed." Beleren raised his voice. "Lavinia, please give us the room, and see to it that no one disturbs us until my guest leaves."

"Sir, I should be present," she protested. "Your visitor is armed and an accomplished warrior."

"Mage Jura is not a threat," said Jace firmly. "Trust me, Deputy. This is not business you want to be around for."

Lavinia's mouth set in a thin, determined line, but she left the office without further discussion. A moment later Gideon felt a rush of mana as a truly amazing system of wards flickered into existence around the room where they stood.

"We can talk in here," said Beleren, confirming his guess as to the spells' purpose. The Guildpact gestured towards one of the two chairs set in front of his desk. "You've come a long way. Please, sit down. I'm afraid they're not very comfortable, though. Lavinia says it will discourage people from staying over their time, but I have to say, so far I don't think it's working."

Gideon took the nearest of the chairs and did not mention that it was easily the softest surface he'd sat on in months. When he sat down his head was about level with Beleren's.

"So," said the Guildpact. "Zendikar."

"Yes."

"Your home?"

"I was born on Theros." Beleren shook his head slightly; he didn't know it. "But Zendikar is my home now."

A wry grin tugged at the corners of the Guildpact's mouth. "I know how that goes."

"And it may not last much longer."

Beleren's amusement fled. "The Eldrazi," he said flatly.

"What else?"

"Has the situation worsened?"

Gideon's head jerked up, half in anger, half in surprise. "You mean you don't--" He fought the rage back down; an entire world was counting on him not to waste this chance. "You don't _know?"_

"Know what?" Beleren seemed genuinely perplexed. He really hadn't heard.

Gideon took a deep breath. Even after all these months, saying it struck him anew with dread. "The Eldrazi are free. The Eldrazi _titans_ are free. Their spawn ravage Zendikar, and where they go..." He searched for words. "...All they leave behind is void."

Beleren's face had gone slack at the first of Gideon's words. "The titans themselves," he said faintly. "I thought they were..."

"Imprisoned, not dead. They are confined no longer. It is only their hunger that keeps them on Zendikar now, and they are consuming it whole."

Beleren looked grave. "Very bad. Extremely bad. Which begs the question. Why did you come to me?"

"You are a planeswalker, are you not? A powerful mage?"

"A powerful _mind_ mage. The Eldrazi have no mind." Beleren grimaced. "The Eldrazi have _worse_ than no mind. So. Why me?"

"The Eldrazi's prison was built from a vast network of stone artifacts called hedrons. Thousands of them cover the land. Each is shaped from living stone and inscribed with runes and patterns unknown on Zendikar. Their builders have long since vanished, and the hedrons channel mana in a way we can barely comprehend - but it works. It held the Eldrazi for thousands of years. It can do it again. _If_ we can reactivate it."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"I came to you because you are the one who solved the Implicit Maze, Guildpact. Perhaps the hedrons are related; they are equally old. It's a slim chance, I know," he added as Beleren tried to speak. "But right now it is all that I - and Zendikar - have."

"I don't know if I can help you," began Beleren. Before Gideon's anger could propel him from his seat the telepath held up a hand in warning. " _Not_ because I don't want to, but because I don't think I'm the one who can understand these hedrons. At least, not on my own."

"You... But you're the Guildpact. You solved the Maze."

"I _ran_ the Maze. That's different, and-- It's not important. Listen. I'm not what you need, but I think I can find it. Give me some time to work. We'll meet again tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" echoed Gideon in disbelief. "By _tomorrow_ thousands more will have been sucked dry by the Eldrazi hordes. The Sea Gate is fallen, and the Lighthouse of Halimar. I do not have until _tomorrow."_ He caught himself sharply; if he had angered the Guildpact - but Beleren absorbed his tirade without blinking.

"Okay," he said. "Wait here. I'm not promising anything. But I'm going to try."

 

***

 

Gideon had nearly nodded off in the chair by the time a commotion rose in the hallway outside the Guildpact's office. Beleren, who had gone back to doing whatever it was he did with his ubiquitous, teetering piles of paperwork, stood quickly and came around his desk just before the door was flung open hard enough to slam against the opposite wall.

"What the hell is this about, Beleren," demanded the man standing in the doorway. He was a violent whirl of red and blue silks and bright brass reflections. Izzet colors, and that must be mizzium. Gideon tried not to groan. An Izzet in the mix, just what he needed. He wanted _fewer_ things on fire, not _more._

A band of blue light clamped around the Izzet's chest, then started to spark alarmingly. "Oh for fuck's sake--"

"Sir, I will have this dealt with momentarily!" he heard Deputy Lavinia shout from somewhere behind the visitor.

"Let him go, Lavinia," called Beleren. "Guildmage Zarek was invited."

"See?" shouted the man - Guildmage Zarek - over his shoulder. "As if I'd show up here without a damn good reason."

The band of blue light snapped and dissipated. The sparks persisted for a moment before gathering together into a single bolt that arced to some bizarre contraption sticking up over the Guildmage's shoulder. _The law-magic was Lavinia, but the electricity's his_ , decided Gideon. Then Guildmage Zarek stepped inside the office and Gideon got a good look at him at last, and he had to squelch an exclamation of surprise. He already knew their visitor: he was the man who'd been watching Gideon's usual arrival and departure point, the man who had been there talking to Beleren. The facts clicked. Beleren had planeswalked away after that conversation and the Izzet mage hadn't registered surprise. Beleren had brought him here. Therefore Zarek had to be a planeswalker as well. Despite himself he felt a spark of interest. Two planeswalkers was more than he'd dared hope for from Ravnica.

Zarek, wholly ignorant of Gideon's deliberations, slammed the door behind him with as much force as he'd opened it. He stood with his hands planted on his hips and a dramatically annoyed expression on his face. "All right. I'm here. Tell me what's going on before your office gets a new window."

"Guildmage Zarek, this is Gideon Jura," said Beleren, ignoring Zarek's threats. Apparently this was normal. "Gideon's native to a plane called Theros."

"He's--" A series of strange expressions rippled across Zarek's face and Gideon felt the hair on his arms rising. A brilliant arc crackled across the blades of his sural. "You told--" Zarek broke off, then hissed, "There. Had better be. An _extremely_ good explanation." His voice had gone low and dangerous, stripped of its previous theatrics.

"There is," said Gideon as he stood. The guildmage seemed slightly annoyed at how unfazed Gideon was by the stray sparks jumping from his armor. Well, in the past few days he had disemboweled more cosmic horrors than he cared to count. An overdramatic Izzet hardly registered anymore.

"Gideon, tell Ral what you told me," said Beleren. "Ral, you probably want to sit down." Zarek glared at the Guildpact and stayed standing. 

Gideon cleared his throat and began. "I come on behalf of the people of Zendikar. The Eldrazi are loose, and they have already devoured half of the plane. Left unchecked they will swallow it whole and move on to others."

"Tell him about the hedrons," interrupted Beleren.

"What's an Eldrazi?" said Zarek.

"Thousands of years ago a group of builders fashioned a network of stone artifacts called hedrons. They cover the plane and alter the natural flow of its mana. They--" 

"What's an _Eldrazi,"_ demanded Zarek, more forcefully this time.

"It's a beast from the Blind Eternities," said Beleren. "They eat planes."

"Oh." Zarek thought about this. "That doesn't sound good at all."

"It really isn't."

"That sounds bad."

"It really, really is."

"Oh." Zarek quieted down. Gideon had just opened his mouth to resume his explanation when the guildmage declared, "But that makes no actual sense."

"What's wrong with it?" said Beleren, sounding offended.

"You can't have a _beast_ in the Blind Eternities," said Zarek. "You can't have an _anything_ in the Blind Eternities. That's the whole point."

"Correct," cut in Gideon. "More accurately, they are fragments of the Blind Eternities itself. We believe. The truth of their nature has, I'm afraid, been lost with the Lighthouse and its archives."

"Oh," said Zarek again. Gideon waited a few more seconds and, when he stayed silent, resumed. "The hedron network altered the flow of mana through Zendikar. It confined--"

"Then they're not creatures at all," declared Zarek. "They're self-propagating patterns. Disturbances in reality." He frowned. "Tricky."

 _"So we need the hedron network back,"_ finished Gideon sharply. "That is why I have come to seek assistance."

Zarek crossed his arms. "Still not seeing why I had to be here, and I quote, 'absolutely as soon as possible.'"

"Gideon, tell him why you came to me in particular," urged Beleren.

Gideon didn't see how that related, but... "The hedrons confined the Eldrazi by creating a vast and elaborate structure of mana. Its workings are, I think, a much larger and more complex version of Ravnica's Implicit Maze." Zarek's eyebrows went up. "I need the person who solved that Maze."

Zarek shifted his glare back to Beleren. An intense and unreadable look passed between them; Gideon had the strong sense that one of them was getting yelled at telepathically, and it probably wasn't the Izzet. Then Zarek broke off the stare and said aloud, "Let me get this straight. You seriously expect me to go to a plane I've never been to, and risk death for a bunch of people I don't care about, just because there's a _puzzle?"_

Indignation boiled in Gideon's chest at the guildmage's careless dismissal of Zendikar, of the death of so many--

"A huge, ancient puzzle," said Beleren.

Gideon blinked. Zarek's expression of annoyance wavered. 

"Covering an entire plane," Beleren continued. "Very powerful. And no one can figure out how it works." Zarek looked thoughtful; Gideon's gaze flickered between them as if watching a duel. "A whole mystery to yourself. You'd be a legend if you solved it. _And._ No Firemind looking over your shoulder."

Zarek's mouth twisted. A shiver of electricity zipped up his spine, setting all his silk ribbons crackling with static. He turned away and Gideon could see him knitting his fingers together, breathing deeply, fidgeting with something on the surface of his mizzium gauntlet.

Zarek turned back.

"Fuck you, Jace," he muttered. "Just... fuck you."

To Gideon's surprise this made Beleren grin. "Leave from here tomorrow noon?"

"Seventeen," countered Zarek. "I'll need a lot of gear. And excuses."

"Done," said Beleren. He turned to Gideon, still with the same smile. "I think we can help you after all."

Gideon glanced between the Guildpact and the Izzet mage, whose fuming expression had already vanished into deep, rapid calculation. Something bright and unexpected stirred in his chest. For the first time in months he felt a scrap of hope. 

He smiled back at Beleren. "You know, I think you can."

**Author's Note:**

> I whipped this out in a few hours after reading the [Uncharted Realms](http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/uncharted-realms/limits-2015-07-15) with Gideon Jura trying to save multiple worlds singlehandedly and then collapsing in front of Jace's house. I really like how it came out, so it's here. And quite frankly regardless of my feelings about any particular character this just seems to be the most logical place for the story to go. It seems like the correct choice for each character to make. Watch me be completely wrong, though. Oh well.


End file.
